A retirement village is a collection of accommodation units established mainly for the older members of our community. In some cases, the individual village will set an age limit for residents and only people over that age will be able to live there.
A nursing home where nursing care is provided is not a retirement village. Neither is a manufactured home village or a caravan park.
A retirement village living usually involves significant financial commitment. There is an initial payment called an "ingoing contribution", as well as ongoing contributions to maintain the village facilities and the provision of services.
Before you make the decision to move into a retirement village seek advice from financial, legal and health advisers, as well as family and friends. It's worth knowing that many people purchase into retirement villages only to discover they're unhappy later and suffer significant costs in finding alternative accommodation. Do not go into these contracts lightly.
Only sign a contract when:
Keep in mind that when you sign a contract, you are signing a document that will become legally binding after the 14 day cooling-off period has expired.
The four most common ownership arrangements are:
